


Detailed

by exalteddean



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Fluff, Happy Ending, Light angst because Dean is embarrassed, M/M, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-04
Updated: 2018-07-04
Packaged: 2019-05-28 19:41:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15056363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/exalteddean/pseuds/exalteddean
Summary: Not everyone has soulmate marks. Generally around 20% of the population. Most people without soulmarks weren’t bothered by not having one; a happily married couple was a happily married couple, no matter what birthmarks they did or didn’t have. However, even amongst those with soulmarks, there was variation.It was discovered years ago that the bigger and more detailed a soulmark was, the more deep the connection between the soulmates. Incredibly rare couples with matching tattoos larger than the average palm-sized mark have been observed to have a deeper understanding, trust, and love between them, enjoying a relationship with someone that seemed like they had been made for them.Dean has a soulmark, though. And it's...different. He's never seen another one like it. He refuses to let anyone but family see it, always careful to keep it covered. But a pool party with all his friends finally makes them all realize that he's definitely hiding something under his shirt.





	Detailed

**Author's Note:**

> This version of a soulmate universe is based on many different aspects of various soulmate universes I've read.

Dean watched over his apartment balcony for the used car he’d restored for his little brother’s sixteenth birthday last year. He fiddled with the long sleeves of his t-shirt, already starting to feel a little too warm in the early summer heat. Before long, 9am rolled around and he spotted Sam pull up and park in a designated visitor spot. Dean went inside, set his coffee mug down on the counter and briskly walked out the door to greet him.

 “Heya, Sammy,” Dean grinned as he pulled him into a bear hug, causing Sam to drop the duffel he’d been retrieving from the backseat.

 “Dude, I was just here last week.” Sam clapped his brother on the shoulder and grabbed his duffel off the ground.

 Shutting the car door behind him, Dean followed Sam back to his apartment. “I know, but you get bigger every damn time I see you. Will you stop it with the growing already?”

 Sam set his things down on the pullout couch and cheerfully replied, “Nope!” He strolled into the kitchen and grabbed Dean’s mug, drinking down the last of the coffee.

 Dean rolled his eyes and poured another mug. “There’s more in the pot, kiddo.”

 “Can’t stay, just came to drop my stuff off before heading to campus. I don’t want to be late.” Sam was already rinsing the old mug in the sink, leg bouncing with pent-up nervous energy.

 “Relax, it’s just a campus tour. Literally no part of this will affect your admissions decision.”

 Sam shrugged and strode for the door. “Still, I don’t want to miss anything! See you at Charlie’s later!”

 Dean waved and wished Sam good luck. He didn’t even need it, the kid was totally going to get in. Hell, he’d probably get more scholarships for Stanford than Dean did when he started there three years ago. Now, his brother was hoping to follow in his footsteps and attend the same university. Conveniently, their parents’ house was only about an hour and a half drive away, so Sam had been coming to stay with Dean even more than usual lately, looking for opportunities to go on campus tours and the university’s recruitment events. Sam was around so often now that he was friendly with all of Dean’s friends, and it’d earned him an invite to Charlie’s first pool party of the summer. Dean loved the fact that his friends all seemed to accept Sam as the collective group’s little brother, and they were all genuinely happy to have him around. The only thing that might make it a little bit better would be if they could just get together for a game night or something instead of swimming. Fidgeting with his shirt sleeves, Dean rolled them up before smoothing them back down again. Mentally cringing, he headed back to take a shower and find something adequate to wear later.

 

 ***

 

Just after noon, Dean pulled up to the house that Charlie, Jo, and Anna rented together. Benny’s Dodge was parked in front, and Gabriel’s little Kia took up a little less than half the driveway. He pulled the Impala up beside the Kia, careful to leave plenty of room between the two cars.

Before he had even turned the engine off, Charlie had bounded out of the house and whipped open the car door. “Hey, Charlie,” He laughed, stepping out and bumping his hip into the door to close it.

“Hey! Everyone’s already swimming!” She grabbed the 24-pack of beer out of Dean’s hands as he pulled it out of the Impala’s backseat. “Where’s Sam?”

Dean stuffed his phone and keys into the pocket of his navy swim shorts and checked the sleeves of his dark gray t-shirt, where they sat pushed up to just below the elbow. “He had a tour this morning, but he’ll be here soon.”

Charlie nodded. “Cool. So, I invited this guy from my psych class last semester—he just transferred here from…Brown? I think Brown. Anyway, his name’s Castiel. He’s cool but he doesn’t know anybody. But he does like _Dungeons and Dragons_ and _Lord of the Rings_ , so I’ve decided he’s our new best friend. He had to work this morning, so he’ll be here in an hour or so.”

Dean laughed but wasn’t surprised. Charlie’s energy and charm were captivating; she had the ability to become friends, _real_ friends, with absolutely anybody.

When they reached the backyard, they were assaulted by a chorus of greetings from Gabriel and Jo playing volleyball in the pool, Anna sunbathing in a lounge chair, and Benny setting up the grill. Dean greeted everyone and took the case back from Charlie, opening it and unloading the beer into the cooler next to Benny.

“Hey man, need any help with the grill? Or I could take over if you want to get in the pool.” Dean feigned nonchalance.

Benny shrugged and said, “Sure, but I just lit the charcoal bricks, so they’ll take a while to burn down. Probably won’t need to put the burgers on for another fifteen minutes.” He turned and pulled his shirt over his head, tossing it onto a nearby chair and heading towards the pool. “You coming? We should play against these guys!” He nodded toward Gabe and Jo, still mostly just bouncing the ball back and forth over the net in the water.

“Maybe in a bit,” Dean called back, stepping out of his shoes and pulling the cooler up to the edge of the pool where everyone could reach it. He pulled one out before sitting down next to the cooler and dipping his feet in the water. Allowing himself to relax, Dean put his hand out behind him and leaned back, sipping his beer and watching his friends splash around. Charlie eagerly rejoined the others in the water, jumping in right between Dean’s and Anna’s spots on the edge, managing to splash both of them.

“Hey, that’s cold!” Anna laughed, wiping her sunglasses off on her towel.

“Dean, get in the pool!” Gabe aimed another splash at him with a grin.

He lifted his can. “I’m good for now, thanks.”

“You can do two things at once, my friend,” Gabriel stated smugly, grabbing a can for himself, drinking from it and then setting it on the side of the pool. “Look ma, no hands!” He grabbed the volleyball from Benny and tossed it to Dean.

Dean caught the ball in his other hand and rolled his eyes before throwing it back. “Well you got an even game now, I would just mess it up.” Gabriel and Benny were standing in the waist-deep water on the side of the volleyball net by Dean, and Jo and Charlie were currently on the other side of the net, working on a new team handshake.

Benny chuckled. “It’s not like we’re playing a regulation game with a fuckin’ ref or anything, man, just come play.”

“In a little bit. I’m gonna put the burgers on soon.”

Jo swam over to grab herself a beer as well. “Don’t make us push you in, Winchester.”

Anna lifted her sunglasses above her eyes. “Hey, you guys gave me enough shit when I wanted to tan. Leave him alone.” She reached over, offering her knuckles for a fist bump. “Solidarity.”

Dean laughed and connected his fist with hers.

Jo snorted. “Yeah, but that’s because you can’t swim and refused to learn.”

Anna stuck her tongue out at Jo, but shrieked when the splash of water came her way.

“Wait…can you not swim either Dean?” Charlie frowned at him.

He knew a lifeline when he saw one. “Nope! Uh, not really,” Dean insisted, shaking his head quickly. “Never really picked it up well.”

The others shrugged and appeared to drop the subject.

Gabriel took the volleyball and looked to the girls. “Alright, are we playing volleyball or what? Get back on your side!” He looked over his shoulder at Dean once more, “Besides, we could always get Dean little arm floaties if he wants to join the big kids.”

Dean rolled his eyes as Benny clapped Gabriel on the back and told him, “Man, just serve the damn thing.”

As he watched the ball bounce back and forth, Dean breathed a sigh of relief. He wanted to hang out with his friends, he really did, but he wished again they could just play board games or something. Then he wouldn’t be in a situation where he’d be expected to take his shirt off, and he wouldn’t have to lie to his friends. Chugging the last of his beer, he crinkled the can in his hand and stood up to go check on the charcoal.

 

***

 

Dean was just adding the last hamburger patty to the grill when he heard the back door open. He glanced over and grinned when he saw Sam stride out to the backyard, now wearing swim shorts and a t-shirt.

“Sammy! How was the tour?” Several other voices echoed his greeting.

“Great! We even got to tour the Landau Economics building.” He kicked off his shoes and pulled off his shirt as he walked towards the pool.

 Jo crinkled her nose. “Economics? I thought you wanted to be a lawyer?”

“Yeah,” Sam nodded excitedly, “that’s just the building where the Public Policy department is. That’s the best major for going pre-law.” He jumped right into the pool without preamble.

“Well that’s awesome!” Dean shouted across the backyard after Sam’s head emerged from the water.

“I’m glad you’re liking it so far! Also, dibs on Sam for our team!” Charlie called from the other side of the pool. He swam over to her, diving below the net and surfacing on the other side.

Gabe watched Sam with one eyebrow raised. “Where’d you learn to swim?”

“Our parents taught us pretty young,” he replied easily. “We’ve spent a week or two at our uncle’s lake house every summer for as long as I can remember.”

“So…Dean _can_ swim?”

Dean’s stomach dropped. He looked up from the grill to see everyone else staring at him, brows furrowed in confusion, or even anger. “I…I’m sorry. I kind of lied.”

_“Why?”_

“I just…don’t want to get in the pool.” They stared back at him, unimpressed. “Look, I’m sorry for lying, but can we just drop it? It doesn’t matter why I don’t want to swim, really.”

“What, are you embarrassed to get wet in front of other people?” Gabe snorted. “Do you turn into a mermaid?”

Suddenly Benny’s eyes widened. “You know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you without a shirt on…and we roomed together freshman _and_ sophomore year.”

Anna sat up and raised her sunglasses again, squinting at him. “Okay, so you don’t want to be seen without a shirt on? That’s it? I’m sure you have nothing to be embarrassed about.”

Charlie pulled herself out of the pool and walked over to Dean. “Is there something you’re trying to hide?” She asked, concern evident in her expression.

Dean bit his lip. He had literally _just_ been caught in a lie. “Uh…yeah.” He shot a panicked look at Sam, who managed to look sheepish while sitting on a pool noodle. “But seriously, can we leave it at that? I don’t want to talk about it.”

Of course Gabriel wouldn’t let it go. “Whatcha got Dean-o? A giant rash? Leprosy?” He smacked his hand in the water. “I Know! A third nipple!”

Dean rolled his eyes and shook his head.

Still, he wouldn’t relent. “Yo Sammy! What’s Dean hiding under there?!”

“Obviously if Dean doesn’t want to tell anyone, I’m not going to say anything. That being said,” He looked pointedly at Dean, “I don’t think anyone here would make a huge deal about it.”

Dean just shook his head and began adding cheese to the simmering patties.

Still, Gabriel plowed on. “Scars? Burns? Regrettable tattoos?”

“Burns would technically be a type of scar,” Jo added helpfully.

Anna chimed in then, pointing out that Dean had nearly dropped the spatula when tattoos were mentioned. She and Charlie began arguing over the plausibility of her tattoo theory, given that Dean had never mentioned getting any tattoos before. While Gabriel agreed that he’d hide them if they were bad or embarrassing, Benny sided with Charlie and Jo, citing that he clearly would have _told_ someone that he was getting a tattoo in the first place, before knowing it would turn out bad.

Meanwhile, Dean cracked open another beer and silently begged them to continue barking up the wrong tree.

“Dean, seriously. Just put us out of our misery!” Charlie begged. “We’re your _best friends_ , nobody here is going to make fun of you, I swear on my first edition Tolkiens!” She clasped her hands and got down on one knee for dramatic effect.

Sam laughed and looked to Dean. “Dude, they’re going to guess right eventually, might as well get it over with.”

Dean glanced around at everyone’s earnest and outright eager faces. With a sigh, he began loading the burgers onto buns and said quietly, “Fine, but you seriously have to get over it. I tell you, we all drop it and go back to normal. Capisce?”

Vigorous nodding.

“I…have a soulmark.”

Dean held his breath and counted the seconds until someone broke the silence.

_…5…6…_

“That’s it?”

Benny punched Gabriel in the shoulder.

“No, seriously, like twenty percent of people have soulmarks, right? That’s not a big deal!”

 

It really wasn’t, in general. It wasn’t terribly common to have a soulmark, sure, but it also wasn’t unheard of. Around eighty percent of the population dated, fell in and out of love, got married and either lived happily ever after or divorced and tried again later. The other twenty percent were born with a birthmark that developed slowly into a design of some kind. One that would match with one other person in the world. These marks were often referred to as soulmarks, an indication for two people who would be a perfect, complete match together: soulmates. Most people without soulmarks weren’t bothered by not having one; a happily married couple was a happily married couple, no matter what birthmarks they did or didn’t have. However, even amongst those with soulmarks, there was variation.

It was discovered years ago that the bigger and more detailed a soulmark was, the more deep the connection between the soulmates. Incredibly rare couples with matching tattoos larger than the average palm-sized mark have been observed to have a deeper understanding, trust, and love between them, enjoying a relationship with someone that seemed like they had been made for them.

Dean looked between Gabriel’s skeptical expression and Sam’s encouraging smile. His fingers twitched on the hem of his shirt before gripping it firmly and lifting. His heart pounded as he balled up the shirt in his hands, unwilling at first to meet the others’ eyes. After a second too long of silence, he glanced up to see most of his friends with jaws dropped and eyes wide.

His soulmark, an intricate design of weaving lines that wound around each other in elegant waves and patterns, spanned the entirety of his back, reaching all the way around to cover his chest, shoulders, and arms down to his elbows.

Dean couldn’t help it; he laughed at their expressions. Sure, they were doing the exact opposite of what he’d wanted, but he appreciated the obviously very concentrated effort they were making to right their faces again and pretend they weren’t shocked. Sam snorted, and the rest of the group finally fell into easy laughter.

Benny shook his head and wrapped an arm around Dean. “Wow, that was seriously unexpected. But we’ll get over it, okay? Now get in the damn water, you’re on our team.”

Dean smiled back, grateful. “Hey man, I just slaved for half an hour on these burgers, we’re eating first.”

He passed out plates and soon enough everyone was munching happily, initial shock worn off.

Charlie touched his arm. “Hey. I’m glad you told us.”

He pulled her into a side hug. “Yeah, I guess I’m glad it’s out in the open now. But seriously, can we just go back to normal?”

“Totally.”

 

***

 

 

A few minutes later found the group all back in the pool, relaxing and enjoying each other’s company. Charlie was teaching Anna to backfloat, Gabriel and Sam were tossing around a beach ball, and Dean, Jo, and Benny somehow managed to all fit onto an enormous inflatable flamingo.

The back door opened and someone Dean didn’t recognize stepped outside. He looked about their age; he was around Dean’s height, had a mess of dark brown hair, and piercing blue eyes. A shy smile graced his full lips and Dean couldn’t help but admire how well he filled out his uniform. He was wearing jeans and a white dress shirt, covered by a blue Gas ‘n Sip vest. He held what appeared to be a swimsuit in one hand.

“Castiel!” Charlie yelled, making sure Anna was standing in shallow water before getting out of the pool to grab his hand and pull him towards the group. “This is Castiel, we had a class together last semester. He’s cool but he’s new, so he’s gonna chill with us!”

As Castiel followed Charlie to the pool to wave at the rest of the group, his mouth dropped open and he stared unblinkingly at Dean. “ _Oh_ my god.”

 _Shit_ , Dean had completely forgotten Charlie invited someone else. Stuck on a stupid blow-up bird, his shirt lying in a chair on the other side of the yard, he couldn’t control his frustration at not being able to cover himself from the stranger’s frankly _rude_ gaping. “Dude, take a fucking picture, why don’t you?”

Castiel snapped his jaw shut, realizing quickly that he’d been gawking at the other boy. “No! I mean, shit…I. Fuck, I didn’t mean to be so rude, I just…” Frantically, Castiel began unbuttoning his white shirt, practically ripping it and the vest off of himself in his haste.

Before the shirt was all the way off, Dean gasped out loud. Castiel had the exact same soulmark he did.

The others seemed to notice after Dean did, and suddenly he was nearly deafened with exclamations. Benny pushed Dean off the flamingo and into the water—he immediately swam to the edge and pulled himself out, slowly walking toward Castiel. The two stared at each other until Charlie cleared her throat loudly next to them.

“Oh, uh…I’m Dean.” He stuck his hand out awkwardly.

“Castiel. Or Cas. Whatever.”

Dean couldn’t tear his eyes off Castiel’s.

They must not have been moving quickly enough for Charlie, because she groaned a low _Jesus Christ_ and grabbed their hands, pulling them towards the door. “Go inside and talk. We’ll be out here when you’re ready to rejoin the land of the living.”

Cas smiled at him, and Dean’s knees nearly gave out. He’d do anything to see that smile as much as possible.

 

***

 

 

Roughly an hour and a half later, Dean and Cas emerged back outside, Castiel now wearing his swimsuit and sporting somehow messier hair, with a pink tinge to his cheeks that matched Dean’s.  Dean lifted up their entwined hands to hide his face when their reemergence was greeted with catcalls and whistling.

The two happily joined the others in the water. Dean commandeered the flamingo, pulling Cas up to sit in between his legs. He wrapped his arms around Castiel’s waist as he leaned back against Dean’s chest. It was funny, he’d always been embarrassed by the possibility of drawing attention to his overwhelming soulmark before. Now, though, his brother and his friends were good-naturedly teasing him about PDA, but he couldn’t keep the smile off his face.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading; comments are welcome!
> 
> I go by the same name on tumblr. :)


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